VOLLEYBALL

The HU volleyball team got off to a slow start Wednesday night at Wiekamp Athletic Center to which the Pilots of Bethel University took advantage to jump out to a 2-0 advantage on the way to logging a 3-1 win, 25-17, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21, over their visitors. With this W, BU earned the regular season sweep over Huntington.

HU came to life in the middle of set two and while they weren’t able to nab that win, their renewed energy and confidence served them well the rest of the evening. Unfortunately, it proved too little too late as the Pilots, after losing set three, came from behind in the fourth to hold on for their 26th win of the season.

“We took a set and a half to get in a rhythm tonight,” noted Coach Kelsey Herber. “We simply can’t do that in this conference and expect to be successful.”

Abby Robinson and De’Janea Johnson had strong outings for Herber’s crew by posting 17 and 13 kills respectively. Robinson also anchored the backline to finish with a team-best 15 digs. Morgan Robrock did a little bit of everything for her team by posting 38 assists, eight digs and 2.5 blocks.

Bethel (26-7, 11-6) currently leads the nation in blocking and made that clear by racking up over 15 blocks as a team to HU’s six. Both teams finished with 45 kills on the night while HU enjoyed a 6-3 edge in service aces and had one less service error than their hosts.

“I thought we did a good job bouncing back by beginning to attack around the block,” said Herber. “However, that was our kryptonite in a couple runs in the fourth set that changed the outcome for us.

“I thought our defense was a bright spot for us tonight. Our back line was disciplined, consistent and worked hard to get touches on everything.”

With just one regular season match remaining, the Foresters (13-20, 4-13) are tied for eighth in the conference standings with Saint Francis. HU hosts the Maple Leafs on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

Rowles led the Foresters in scoring and rebounding with 13 points and eight boards. She also dished out three assists. Konnor Gambrell sparked HU off the bench with nine points.

For Tech, Emma Tuominen topped all scorers with 16 points in addition to corralling 11 rebounds for the double double. Kyra Whitaker added 12 points for the guests as the game’s only other double-digit scorer.

Huntington (0-1) returns to Platt Arena on Saturday to host Cornerstone at 7:00 p.m.